Toyota Batteries - Battery Design

With the Toyota Prius they have perhaps one of the longest and best names in hybrid vehicles. The original Nickel Metal Hydride based battery was used in these vehicles for a long time and is still a significant pack to include in benchmarks.

Battery Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Toyota’s battery supply is vertically integrated through several wholly-owned or jointly-owned entities. Understanding this structure is important context for following the timeline below.

PEVE (Primearth EV Energy) – founded 1996 as a joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic (then Matsushita), with Panasonic holding 60% initially. Renamed from Panasonic EV Energy in 2010. Produces NiMH and Li-ion packs for HEVs and PHEVs. Toyota held 80.5% ahead of its full buyout; in March 2024 Toyota completed acquisition to make PEVE a wholly owned subsidiary.
PPES (Prime Planet Energy & Solutions) – established February 2020 as a 51/49 Toyota/Panasonic joint venture specialising in automotive prismatic batteries for HEV, PHEV, and BEV applications. Key production sites include Himeji, Japan, with a North Carolina plant targeting HEV, PHEV and BEV cells from 2026.
Toyota Industries Corporation – a further Toyota affiliate involved in HEV battery mass production.

Battery Development Timeline

1996

PEVE (originally Panasonic EV Energy) founded as a Toyota/Panasonic joint venture to produce NiMH battery packs for hybrid vehicles. Panasonic initially held majority (60%) with Toyota taking majority control following a capital restructuring in 2005.

1997

First generation of the Prius is launched in Japan
- this is the first mass produced petrol hybrid car

toyota prius timeline — *from Wikipedia*

2003

Prius 2004 Gen 2 battery pack (1.3kWh NiMh) – this was in the 2004 MY Prius and is an old pack design, but based on the number of packs made and the success of the Prius HEV this is an important design and benchmark.

2010

Panasonic EV Energy is renamed to Primearth EV Energy (PEVE). A further capital restructuring brings Toyota’s share to 80.5%.

2011

PEVE begins mass production of Li-ion battery packs, having previously been solely NiMH.

2016

The Prius HEV battery gets updated to a Lithium Ion chemistry.

2019

January: Toyota and Panasonic announce agreement to establish a new joint venture specialising in automotive prismatic batteries — the entity that will become PPES.

2020

February: Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES) formally established as a 51/49 Toyota/Panasonic joint venture for automotive prismatic batteries. Will supply batteries broadly, not only to Toyota.
Mirai 2020 battery pack (1.24kWh Li-Ion)
All-Solid State prototype vehicle licensed for road use August 2020, demonstrating higher energy density and faster charging than conventional Li-ion.
- Masahiko Maeda, CTO Toyota Motor Corporation, “Toyota’s Battery Development and Supply“, September 7, 2021

2021

toyota battery history — *Toyota battery history [2]*

Bipolar NiMh battery is introduced into the Aqua. A claimed significant improvement in package and power delivery. The bipolar architecture — where each cell collector plate serves as both anode and cathode for adjacent cells — reduces internal resistance and improves power density. This architecture is later adapted for BEV applications (see 2026).ment in package and power delivery.

2022

Prius HEV battery increases in nominal voltage from 207.2 V to 222 V with the same 4.08 Ah capacity cell; total pack energy increases from 0.845 to 0.906 kWh.
bZ4X launched — Toyota’s first dedicated battery electric vehicle, sharing its e-TNGA platform with the Subaru Solterra.
FWD variants: 71.4 kWh Li-ion prismatic pack supplied by PPES; ~355 V; 150 kW DC fast charge; estimated 90% capacity retention over ten years.
AWD variants (North America): 72.8 kWh pack supplied by CATL; 100 kW DC fast charge. The CATL AWD battery drew early criticism for slow charging — up to one hour for 0–80% — and initial firmware limiting to three fast-charge sessions per day.

2023

June: Toyota announces a partnership with Idemitsu Kosan for mass-producing the solid electrolytes required for Toyota’s solid-state batteries.
July: Toyota announces a manufacturing process breakthrough for solid-state battery electrolyte production, claiming a pathway to 1,200 km (745 mile) range and 10-minute charge by 2027 at the earliest.
September: Major battery technology roadmap published at the BEV Factory launch event. A multi-tier strategy for next-generation vehicles launching from 2026:
Popularisation battery (LFP bipolar, 2026–27): 40% cost reduction vs current bZ4X; 20-minute or less 10–80% fast charge target.
Performance battery (Li-ion NMC, 2026): 20% cost reduction; 20% range improvement; 20-minute or less 10–80% fast charge.
High-Performance battery (Li-ion, 2027–28): WLTP range target ~1,000 km (621 miles); further 10% cost reduction.
Solid-State Gen 1 (2027–28): ~1,000 km WLTP range; 10-minute 10–80% DC fast charge; sulfide-based electrolyte.
Solid-State Gen 2 (post-2028): WLTP range target ~1,200 km (745 miles).
Battery pack height roadmap announced: current bZ4X pack (including casing) is ~150 mm; Toyota targets 120 mm for next-gen, reducing to 100 mm for high-performance sports applications, improving range, driving dynamics and packaging.
Toyota also confirms LGES (LG Energy Solution) will supply NCMA batteries for Toyota BEVs in the US market from 2025.

2024

March: Toyota completes full acquisition of PEVE, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. PEVE broadens its production scope to include PHEVs and BEV batteries in addition to its existing HEV focus.
September: Toyota receives certification from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to develop and produce next-generation performance batteries and all-solid-state batteries. Production start planned for 2026, ramping to up to 9 GWh/year. Certification covers manufacturing at both PPES and PEVE.

2025

bZ4X facelift introduces updated battery variants from PPES and LGES:
57.7 kWh base battery (LGES LFP): 78 prismatic cells; 26 cells per module (same module envelope as before). AC charging doubles from 11 kW to 22 kW.
73.1 kWh long-range battery (PPES NMC): 104 prismatic cells; increased capacity within the same cell dimensions via improved energy density. WLTP range up to 569 km (FWD, 18-inch wheels).
Charging time approximately halved vs pre-facelift; flatter DC charging curve; 150 kW peak DC fast charge maintained.
PPES begins mass production of the new higher-capacity prismatic BEV cell at its Himeji Plant, for installation in the updated bZ4X, Lexus RZ, and Subaru Solterra.

2026 (Planned)

Next-generation BEVs enter production, targeting 1.7 million of a 3.5 million EV annual sales target by 2030.
LFP bipolar battery for BEVs enters production — adapts the bipolar architecture (first used in the Aqua and Crown HEVs) to a lithium iron phosphate BEV cell. Targets a 40% cost reduction vs current bZ4X.
NMC performance battery enters production with 20% cost reduction and 20% range improvement over current bZ4X.
Toyota’s North Carolina gigafactory (in partnership with PPES) targets cell production for HEVs, PHEVs, and BEVs.
Note: These are Toyota’s stated targets; timelines have shifted previously and should be treated as indicative.

2027–28 (Planned)

Solid-State Gen 1 vehicle launch target. Sulfide-based electrolyte; ~1,000 km WLTP range; 10-minute 10–80% DC fast charge.
High-Performance liquid-electrolyte battery (~1,000 km WLTP, 10-minute charge) also targeted for this window.